HARLEM BURNING
by Cor Tenebrae
Summary: My thoughts on Ferguson as told through the Harlem Race Riots of 1964. Set during The Gyre Widens. Will contain Halo characters (Chief/Cortana) but will be mainly focusing on other characters not from Halo canon. This story will contain three chapters and will be completed by the end of the week.


HARLEM BURNING

Prologue

_There ain't no money in the cure. The money's in the medicine. That's how you get paid. On the comeback. That's how a drug dealer makes his money. On the comeback. That's all the government is. A bunch of motherfucking drug dealers. On the comeback. They ain't curing shit._

Chris Rock

_When heroes are called traitors, and traitors heroes…dark times have come._

Roland Deschain

…

This will be the first of three chapters which I will be posting throughout the week, the first chapter acting as a sort of introduction to the setting and time period this story will be taking place in.

I think you all know why I am writing this. I have written briefly about my thoughts on Ferguson, and the events surrounding it, but it is only recently with the decision of the Grand Jury and the riots and protests that have followed that a means by which I could exercise my feelings on this tragedy presented itself.

And so, as I have so often done in the past, I turned to history. I turned to it, if not for comfort, at least for understanding. To see these unfolding events within a much broader context.

This inevitably led to the Harlem Race Riot of 1964.

I must warn you, I will not be giving you my opinion on Ferguson, at least not directly. I will be allowing my words and this story to speak for me, to view the events of the present through the events of the past. This story takes place during The Gyre Widens, and while traditional Halo characters will be present, they will not be the focus. If you are not familiar with my other stories the setting may seem confusing at first, but I do implore you to bear with me, as I believe the thoughts, ideas, and historical truth that will be presented can benefit everyone, even if you completely disagree with my observations. In fact I urge you not to take my opinions as canonical truth, but rather as food for thought. A different perspective from which to view the world in.

I do not usually put trigger warning at the beginning of my stories, but to those uninitiated with my writing style I pull no punches regarding racial and sexual bigotry and hatred. Depictions of racial violence, often extreme, will be used. I hope all of you can understand that I do this not to be exploitative or shocking, but to rather tell the truth the best way I know how.

Thank you for reading.

…

On the morning of June 16th 1964, building superintendent Patrick Lynch, annoyed by the ever present black youths who frequently took the opportunity to sit on the stoops of the predominantly white upper class residential housing he was in charge of managing, decided to scare the black youths away by squirting them with a hose. Many witnesses later reported hearing him say "Dirty niggers, I'll wash you clean," underneath his breath, as well as other racial slurs.

Observing the incident unfold, fifteen year old black boy named James Powel along with two other friends, went to confront Lynch. After an initial confrontation Lynch retreated inside one of the apartment complexes, Powel following him inside, breaking a window in the process.

Across the street a white off duty police officer, Lieutenant Thomas Gilligan, saw Powel forcibly enter the building. Gilligan entered the building after Powel, drawing his revolver. According to Powel's testimony to a Grand Jury, the fifteen year old Powel lunged at him with a knife, the officer responding by firing his revolver three times, killing Powel instantly.

Most witnesses of the event claim that they did not see Powel carrying a knife inside the building, some even saying that Powell had been laughing until the officer shot him.

A knife was later found by investigators in a street gutter, approximately eight feet away from the body.

In September of 1964 a Grand Jury failed to indict Lieutenant Gilligan of any charges, siting insufficient evidence to warrant a trial.

The fallout of this incident sparked a mass wave of protests and riots across New York City, predominantly occurring in Harlem, where mass resentment against the predominantly white police force by the overwhelmingly black residents had been brewing for decades. The rioting lasted for six days, NYPD officers using tear gas, batons and, eventually, live ammunition to put down the rioters.

The following is a fictionalized account of these events.

…


End file.
